Blaze: Year One
by iamgoku
Summary: Before Shaun Jaymes Quinzel joined the Youth League, he was mastering his powers and hiding from his mother, Harley Quinn, and his father, the Joker. But when push comes to shove, Shaun will ultimately prove that he is nothing like his father and he has what it takes to be a true hero. Prequel to "Intangible". Eventual Teen Titans (2003 animated series) crossover.
1. Prologue

**Iamgoku: Hi everybody ! I am here to introduce my spin off/Prequel to Intangible ,which follows my character, Shaun Jaymes Quinzel, and the two year journey before he became a member of the Justice League's Youth program.**

 **Intangible as you may know was original titled 'Invisible' and 'syoc' originally authored by 'AC333', which the first 10 chapters were written solely by her, before I began co-writing in chapter 11, and continued to do so until chapter 23. AC333 decided to let me adopt the story after she desired to re-write it, not wanting the version we had both worked so hard on to die, I am now posting and continuing it on my account, with AC being m a consultant on various characters.**

 **Now 'Intangible' and 'Blaze Year One' are both sequels to her story 'Suicide Squad' which takes place in Justice League following the Thanagarian invasion and Shayera's decision to quit the League, it is completed and can be found at the link below, I urge you to read that first, as it has several plot points that come up in 'Intangible' that you might get confused with otherwise.**

s/11134687/1/Suicide-Squad

 **Now, one thing to realise about this story, is that it will eventually contain characters from the 2003 series 'Teen Titans' The Animated Series, which you would know if you've read far enough into 'Intangible' as Shaun becomes a member in the third 'Arc' of this story, which is the longest arc, and covers season 3 and 4 of the Teen Titans Animated Series.**

 **And before we continue, I would like to thank AC333 once again for allowing me to continue this story that we have both worked so hard on, and found friends in one another through doing so.**

 **Disclaimer: All DC characters are property of DC (duh).**

(line break)

Five year old Shaun walked next to his mother as they entered the old abandoned Ace Chemical Plant, he was wearing a pair of red overalls and a black long sleeved shirt and a pair of sneakers.

He looked around to see most of the interior was beginning to fall to pieces but the machinery and equipment still seemed to be in working order.

Tugging on Harley's sleeve to get her attention, he looked up at her sleepily.

"Mommy, I'm tired" he said rubbing one of his eyes.

It was late at night when the Joker had decided to take them here, claiming he wanted to show Shaun where he had become who he was today, in hopes of inspiring him in 'the family business'.

"It's ok sweetie, we'll be home before ya know it" Harley said ruffling his hair slightly.

"Besides, there's something I want to show you" The Joker said grinning from ahead of them as he walked up a flight of metal steps leading to a railing overlooking the entire Plant, there was tanks and control panels littered around the place and Shaun winced at some of the smells coming from the vats as they walked up to the higher level.

"Oh the memories this place holds" The Joker said gesturing to the surroundings before walking over and putting a hand on Shaun's shoulder, leading him ahead of Harley.

Shaun tried not to flinch at his touch; he tried to hide the slight fear he had as his father's hand gripped his shoulder.

"You see sunny boy, this is the site of a very important event. It's were your dear old dad became the stunningly handsome individual you see before you" The Joker said gesturing to his face before as he glanced down slightly at the numerous vats and large tanks of chemicals down below, most were dry and empty but he saw a few at the end which were still full and heated, however only one didn't have a container lid on the top, a large vat full of orange-red chemicals.

Suddenly The Joker lifted Shaun up and sat him down on the railing overlooking the vat. This caused the young boy to let out a cry of surprise before gripping the bar tightly, trying to lean forward, however The Joker held him firmly seated on the rail.

"Uh…hehehe, P-Puddin, what're ya doin?" Harley asked nervously.

"Quite Harley! I'm trying to have a father son chat with the boy" He said before turning back to Shaun who was shaking slightly.

"I've been thinking about this for a while now, you see taking a dip in one of these tanks was the greatest thing that ever happened to me." He said enthusiastically.

"It made me a new man, literally. And it got rid of all my previous faults, and I'm sure it'll do the same for you too" he said as Shaun was more afraid.

"That's what I'm talking about!" The Joker exclaimed with a sneer.

"Always scared, that's what you are. You never embrace the hilarity of our fun and games, always worried about 'hurting people', you're an embarrassment" The Joker exclaimed gripping Shaun's collar and lifting him up off the rail.

"That's about to change" he said moving him over the railing above the tank.

"No! Don't!" Harley cried running over towards them; however The Joker only grinned as he let go.

"Mommy!" Shaun cried out as he fell through the air, his eyes were wide with terror as his arms flailed in the air helplessly. Time seemed to slow as he plummeted towards the tank.

"NOO!" Harley screamed out as she moved to grab him at the last second, only for The Joker to grab her arms and restrain her.

Shaun fell into the tank with a large splash, his small form instantly being swallowed up by the chemical mixture, disappearing from sight.

"Let me go!" Harley yelled, yanking herself out of his grip.

He however merely looked over the side seeing the tell-tale sign of bubbles appearing from Shaun's breathing arriving at the surface; however they saw no body emerge from the tank.

Harley leaned over the side of the tank, her eyes darting across to see any sign of movement or life, but saw none, the bubbles had stopped and the chemicals were still.

The Joker merely stroked his chin.

"Hmmm, well at least the mistake's been taken care of" he said apathetically.

The sound of a gun being cocked caught his attention.

Turning he saw Harley was now standing there pointing a revolver at him with both hands on the gun; tears were streaming down her face as her body shook lightly.

"Y-You…..You BASTARD!" She screamed, still aiming the gun shakily at The Joker.

"Oh come now Harley, don't you think you're overreacting slightly" he said, only for Harley to walk towards him angrily, the gun steadying its aim.

"HE WAS OUR SON!" she screamed as she aimed at his head.

"Key word being 'was'" The Joker said mostly to himself, not realising Harley's resolve.

"THAT'S IT! THIS IS THE LAST STRAW!" She said as she was about to press the trigger, only for a splashing noise down below to catch her attention.

"Huh?" The Joker said as he looked down towards the tank, Harley also looked down, her expression changed to one of shock and hope as the tank began to move slightly, as if it was being hit from the inside.

The chemicals continued to bubble and splash about as a figure began to be seen coming up from the tank at a rapid rate, and moments later they saw the form come rocketing up from the tank and into the air.

It was Shaun

However he was different, his skin was becoming paler and his hair was beginning to have green streaks appear in the blonde. His body seemed to float in mid-air for a few moments, until his eyes shot open and he suddenly was propelled back across the Plant and collided with the brick wall, quickly falling to the floor below.

The Joker stared in fascination, and Harley instantly dropped the gun and ran across the walkway towards the stairs. Reaching the bottom she was about to run over to Shaun when a sound echoed throughout the plant, stopping her in her tracks.

"Aaaaaaahhahahahahaha" Shaun began laughing, his small hands clutching his head as he managed to stand, however his body was hunched over as if in pain.

"HahahahahAAARRRGHHHHHHHH!" He cried out as his hands flew to the sides and he arched his back, a sickening crack rang out throughout the area, as Shaun's eyes were wide and unblinking for a moment before his right arm made a similar sound, the bones twisting and turning to unnatural angles.

Harley looked on in fear and concern as Shaun suddenly hunched forward again, his spine cracking once again, this time however his shirt tore, as if it was too small for him, the overalls he were wearing began to strain as well as he continued to go through the morbid transformation.

His body began to faintly glow an orange aura as he fell to his knees, his legs cracking and lengthening as he slammed his fists into the concrete, the ground cracking under his assault.

The orange aura suddenly exploded around him and the energy seemed to be pouring out of his very being.

"AAAAAARRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" Shaun screamed as his body suddenly began to grow faster, his clothing burst and tore from his body, his hands gripped his skull painfully as it seemed to expand and grow along with him, his hair also growing more and more as each second past, however his cries suddenly cut off and he gasped and took in a large intake of air.

Harley moved over slightly closer to him, thinking the worst was over and still in awe of the strange transformation that had overtaken her son.

"S-Shaun? Are you ok?"

Shaun looked up weakly, his blue eyes seemingly blurred for a moment as if they were getting used to the surroundings, however in an instant they flashed orange and he found himself propelled back towards the wall he had hit previously, his body arching into the bricks as he continued to change.

Harley covered her mouth as she felt her eyes begin to moisten with tears again at the sight, not knowing how to stop the pain he was in.

His body was now older and larger; he looked about fifteen years old. His fists clenched as his body began to fill out with muscle, his skin stretching to accommodate the change in physique, he was now sweating profusely as his eyes were clenched shut as if to try and block out the sensation.

However a moment later, after another flash of orange surrounded him, it stopped.

Shaun dropped to the ground with a thud as he landed on his knees, he was now breathing heavily and mostly naked, except for the last few scraps of his overalls which now looked like a makeshift loin cloth.

Harley slowly made her way closer to him, wary of another outburst, however it seemed the worst had passed.

The Joker meanwhile was over by the steps, having watched the entire thing; he was now smiling deviously at the development.

Harley was now in front of Shaun and kneeled down slightly, placing a hand on his shoulder, he didn't seem to respond immediately.

"Shaun….are you ok?" she asked softly, he merely stared off into space, not acknowledging her at first.

However his eyes blinked after a moment and he slowly turned to face her.

Harley smiled slightly at him, she was about to lean in to hug him closer when his right hand suddenly came into contact with her stomach, and with a surprising amount of force, Harley was flung across the room, slamming into the vat he had come out of with a loud clanging noise.

Harley slipped to the floor and let out a groan.

Shaun shakily stood to his feet and gazed down at his hands.

"N-No…." He said shaking his head in a combination of confusion and denial, his mind not being able to fully comprehend the unexpected and sudden change and shift in his body.

He reeled back as his left hand suddenly became encompassed with a small orange glow, which than intensified into a darker hue before the energy discharged from his hand and flew across the room smashing into a wall.

Shaun shuffled back in shock, only to than see his right shoulder glowing intensely, before it than seemed to glow less and disappear. Shaun started to become worried and confused even more so as his body parts randomly began to glow and surround themselves with this strange energy at varying levels of intensity and variety, some areas felt warm, others felt hot, some simply felt fuzzy, while other parts felt sharp and hard.

Clenching his eyes shut he shook his head rapidly and tried to cover his ears and block out the ordeal, and a moment later he felt his body seemingly calm.

Opening his eyes he found that the orange energy had disappeared.

He still felt funny however, he felt stronger and…harder, he also felt taller.

The Joker took this moment to speak up.

"Well isn't this a surprise!" he said clapping his hands in applause.

"You know I didn't think you'd survive, and even if you did I couldn't have expected this!" he said gesturing to Shaun's new appearance and obvious displays of power.

"Now that you've got an upgrade, we can really have some fun, whaddya say?" The Joker asked enthusiastically.

Shaun merely starred at him for a moment, unsure of how to react, than looked down to see his right arm was glowing again, not as intensely as before, but still glowing with energy.

He turned back to The Joker, his face morphing into a glare as he snarled at the man before instinctively launching his right hand forward and sending a blast of energy straight towards him.

Before he even realised what had happened, The Joker found himself indented into the nearest metal wall, his midriff had a large hole through his clothing and his skin was burnt, a moment later he fell to the floor unconscious.

Shaun staggered on his feet for a moment as he looked at The Joker and then back to his hand, but turned when he heard a small shuffling noise from behind him and saw Harley had finally managed to get back up.

She looked over at The Joker in shock before looking at Shaun, she tried to make herself look calm as to not agitate him, not knowing what kind of mental state he was in after going through his metamorphosis.

"Shaun, sweetheart..." she began, only for him to back away slightly from her.

"No…..N-No!" he exclaimed before turning and beginning to jog towards the exit.

"Wait!" Harley yelled out pleadingly, trying to move faster, but winced as she found herself still sore from being thrown across the room.

"Baby wait! Please!"

Shaun however had made it to the large metal door blocking his escape and without thinking had rammed his shoulder into it, causing it to crumple against him and give way; he merely looked at it in surprise before hearing Harley's voice yelling out at him to come back, and began to run as fast as he could.

Making his way to the gates he leapt up, instantly clearing them and continuing on without pause, getting as far away from the two as possible.

 **(line break)**

Shaun kept running until he could no longer see the Plant, the cold night air filled his lungs as he ran through the streets, its chill barely seemed to faze him despite only having the scraps that remained of his overalls covering his groin while the rest of his body was left unguarded towards the elements, he continued on as he was slowly coming into the more populated areas of the city.

He looked up slightly as he continued along, seeing the moon high in the night sky peeking out behind the grey clouds.

However in doing so he failed to realise he had walked across a street crossing and was now in the middle of the road, a loud horn caught his ears and he turned to see a car swerving to try and avoid him.

The car continued to come towards him, failing to move in time to avoid hitting him, yet Shaun in a flash swung his left arm up, connecting with the car's front underside and sent it up onto the sidewalk on two wheels, the driver's side facing upwards as the car was on its side.

The people who were on the streets looked on in shock and slight fear at the sight, while Shaun still wasn't able to fully understand what was going on, his body mostly acting on instinct as his mind was dazed and confused.

However a siren caught his attention, he turned slightly to see a police car coming along the road quickly, turning to look around he saw the man in the upturned car trying to get out, and many people were now beginning to come out.

Just as the police car pulled up, Shaun jumped up off the ground, his body going high in the air and doing a summersault before he landed on top of a street light, he then jumped across to the roof of a two story building and took off again, making his way from the scene as quickly as possible.

'… _G-Gotta…..find….safe….p-place'_ he thought, his mind still dazed as he ran across the roof, jumping over concrete ledges onto the connected building next to it, and continuing on, his body moving faster and faster as he approached the ledge that separated the next building, this one had an alley between it.

Without stopping or slowing down, Shaun leapt into the air, clearing the alleyway with ease before landing with a thud onto the next roof, stopping for only a second before he resumed his pace.

He kept this up for several blocks, jumping from building to building, climbing up several fire escapes at one point and finding himself up onto higher buildings.

He stopped on one roof however, seemingly seeing a familiar sight, it was the old Gotham Park, and it had been closed down for years after they had developed another park in a different neighbourhood. Yet that wasn't what was important, the fact that the park itself was also connected to the former Botanical Gardens, it too having an updated version connected to the newer park.

But he knew who inhabited the old one currently.

She had been there for almost two years.

' _A-Aunt Ivy...'_ he thought before dropping down into the alley below, causing the concrete to crack upon his landing. He slowly made his way to the opening of the alleyway, checking to see that there was no one around, before taking off across the street, he jumped over the high fence and entered the Park.

Running through the abandoned area he crossed the pond by means of a wooden bridge, and continued past overgrown bushes flower beds. A few minutes later he found the gate's on the other side of the park which opened to a long walkway which had large shrubs on the side, this was the way to the Botanical Gardens.

Walking along the path quickly he saw another gate at the end, this one locked. Beyond the gate was a glass walled path which led to the front door, with a glass roof in an archway, not bothering to open it he merely jumped up, grabbing the top of the gate he used it as a medium to propel himself up and onto the top of the glass archway, and began walking along, towards the doors which were below.

His footsteps made small squeaking sounds as he stepped on the smooth glass, Shaun looked down to the glass so he could see the interior of the walkway; however a loud cracking noise suddenly rang out.

Shaun looked to his feet just in time for the glass to shatter under his weight and he found himself falling through the air.

"Aaaarrghhhhh!" he screamed out as he fell, his hands flying up to his face in an X shape to try and cushion the blow which he was sure was coming.

Yet he felt none.

Opening his eyes he saw the floor below him, ten inches from his face, the stone floor staring back at him. Shaun moved his hands away from his face and looked around to see his body was suspended in mid-air, floating above the floor.

Flailing his arms around slightly he found himself evening out and his legs were now facing the floor before he suddenly felt gravity take hold again and he dropped to the floor, falling over face first.

"Uurrrghhh" he groaned as he managed to stand, his body suddenly starting to become fatigued and sluggish, though the site of the doors ahead of him gave him the incentive to keep moving.

Reaching the large wooden doors, Shaun banged on it with his right hand several times, the wood cracking under his strength. He could see his vison beginning to blur slightly, looking at the door he brought both hands up and banged on the door once more, this time however the energy from before and the doors completely blew of their hinges, flying across the entry way.

He staggered for a moment, as the energy faded from his arms, a figure made its way into view.

"Who dares to disturb my sanctuary!" the familiar voice said, as Poison Ivy walked down a flight of stairs and across the entry way, wearing her usual green plant themed attire.

"A-Aunt Ivy" Shaun said weakly, before dropping to the floor.

Ivy looked in confusion at the person who had broken into her home, he was young, almost completely naked except for some scraps he had on, had blonde hair streaked with green in some placed, and had a pale complexion marred his muscular form.

Ivy tilted her head in confusion at what he had called her, only one person called her that, and he was someone very close to the villainess.

However looking at the scraps of clothing the person had on, she saw a small name tag hanging on at the back, and the name on it caused her eyes to widen in shock.

Quickly running over to the boy she rolled him onto his back and cupped his face as his blue eyes flickered softly, starring at him as a look of recognition came to her face, it was mixed with sadness and horror.

"Oh my god! …..Shaun…..what have they done to you" she said softly as he finally passed out, Ivy bringing his head up and cradling it to her chest as she let out a sob.

(line break)

Ten minutes later, Ivy had managed to bring him into her hideout, with the help of a plant construct she had carried him in. Now she had moved into her laboratory area and set up a bed for him in an adjoining room.

She didn't know exactly what had happened, and knew she wouldn't until he regained consciousness, but she had begun taking notes on Shaun's physical changes from what she could see, as well as hooking him up to several machines in order to monitor his vitals.

Walking over to his side she stared down at his unconscious form, taking in the change. It was almost unbelievable, that this was the young boy she had only seen a few weeks ago, who was now a young man.

Ivy had placed him in a pair of dark workout shorts and a white singlet for the time being, replacing the rags he had arrived in, they clung to him closely.

Running a hand through his hair she let out a small growl of anger and disgust as she saw the streaks of green in his blonde hair, it was still mostly blonde. She was angered as it reminded her more of that bastard of a clown who was his father.

No, not his father, as far as Ivy was concerned that lunatic was no more than a genetic donor, nothing more. She cared for him more than he did, and she cared for Harley more, yet despite all her previous beatings and abuse, despite all the times Ivy had needed to tend to and care for Harley in this very room, she still went back to him.

However staring down at Shaun, she hoped Harley might finally see the truth after this.

Placing her hand on his forehead, Ivy could see his skin was also paler as well, where it used to be a healthier peach colour, however he wasn't as pale as The Joker, whose skin was chalk white. Ivy was thankful that he still had a normal, albeit still pale, skin tone, he looked more like a Goth's tone of pale.

Stepping away she walked back into the laboratory area and was about to get herself a glass of water when suddenly a loud beeping came from one of the machines and she heard a blood curdling scream which made her instantly run back into the room.

Shaun was now awake and thrashing around the bed, his eyes were closed shut and he was clutching his head and tossing and turning on the bed, still screaming.

"Shaun!" Ivy cried as she ran over to him, she tried to grab onto his arms and calm him down, yet something happened which caused her to gasp.

Shaun's eyes burst open, and what happened next blew Ivy away, literally.

A wave of orange energy erupted from all around him and sent Ivy flying back across the room, she hit the wall before falling to the floor, it took her a few moments to recover and look up in shock to see Shaun, still screaming, but surrounded in this energy.

The mattress he was on was beginning to singe and burn as he flailed around in pain, Ivy quickly motioned for a number of potted plants in the immediate area to come to life, and they sprung up around him in vine form in order to restrain him down onto the bed.

However he kept thrashing around screaming, Ivy tried to calm him down but he didn't seem coherent of anything except what he was going through.

"AARRRGGHHHHHHH! AAUUUGHHHHHHHH" He screamed out as suddenly the mattress under him exploded in a torrent of foam and fabric, the vines around him beginning to singe and burn as well.

Ivy was about to call out to him when his head snapped around in her direction, his eyes wide and still orange, and he let out a choked gasp.

"It huuuurts!" he cried out as he thrashed around.

"Buuurnss!"

Ivy merely watched on as he continued to go through this torture, she grabbed a blanket and tried to cover him with it, but the energy around him suddenly heated up and Ivy had to pull it off him before it burst into flames.

Whatever this was, she hoped for his sake that it would stabilise soon, she couldn't bear to see him in the state he was in.

 **Unknown POV**

Meanwhile, in a totally different setting, a man was standing by a window in a high rise building, looking out onto the city, the lights of the buildings seemingly uninteresting him as his attention seemed to be on something else entirely.

He looked young, in his late twenties, and had brown hair that was combed back. He wore an expensive dark suit with a navy blue shirt that fit perfectly around his muscular build, and matching tie. His skin was a brown tan, and his eyes were dark brown.

Another man entered the room, he too was smartly dressed, with dark hair, a lighter complexion, and carrying a small tablet, he adjusted his dark rimmed glasses as he saw the other man standing at the window and seemingly lost in thought.

"Sir? Is something the matter?" he asked.

The man by the window turned his head slightly to address him, yet kept his focus mainly on the city.

"…There is another" he said, his voice was lower, and had an Australian accent.

The other man holding the tablet merely looked on in slightly confusion as his employer turned back to the window, however he decided not to interrupt him while he seemed to be concentrating on other matters, and merely placed the tablet on the desk and exited the room.

The remaining man stared back outside the window for a moment, his own reflection coming into view.

He smiled slightly and his eyes flashed blue.


	2. Adjusting

**Iamgoku: Hi everybody ! we're here with the second chapter of my spin off/Prequel to Intangible ,which follows my character, Shaun Jaymes Quinzel, and the two year journey before he became a member of the Justice League's Youth program.**

 **Intangible as you may know was original titled 'Invisible' and 'syoc' originally authored by 'AC333', which the first 10 chapters were written solely by her, before I began co-writing in chapter 11, and continued to do so until chapter 23. AC333 decided to let me adopt the story after she desired to re-write it, not wanting the version we had both worked so hard on to die, I am now posting and continuing it on my account, with AC being m a consultant on various characters.**

 **Now 'Intangible' and 'Blaze Year One' are both sequels to her story 'Suicide Squad' which takes place in Justice League following the Thanagarian invasion and Shayera's decision to quit the League, it is completed and can be found at the link below, I urge you to read that first, as it has several plot points that come up in 'Intangible' that you might get confused with otherwise.**

s/11134687/1/Suicide-Squad **.**

 **And before we continue, I would like to thank AC333 once again for allowing me to continue this story that we have both worked so hard on, and found friends in one another through doing so.**

 **Disclaimer: All DC characters are property of DC (duh).**

(line break)

Two weeks had passed since Shaun arrived at Ivy's hideout.

It had taken hours for his body to calm down from whatever strange transition it had been going through on the first night he arrived, but once it did Shaun had slept for hours. Over the next few days Pamela was stunned at what she saw.

Shaun's brain seemed to be absorbing information and stimulus far quicker than the average person. Ivy theories that whatever changes had happened, his new powers and physiology must have also given him the ability to learn at a quicker rate.

He spent a lot of time learning as Ivy tried to get him up to speed on what he would need after being aged ten years.

Ivy had also planned to go out and personally hunt the Joker down and feed him to one of her plant creatures, but not before torturing him first. But Shaun had pleaded with her not to; he didn't want her getting into trouble because of him.

She had said that she would do that and more for him, that she cared for him and wouldn't let what the Joker did to him go so easily.

However after Shaun had reacted with genuine concern for her and almost breaking down with worry, she agreed she wouldn't retaliate, at least not now.

She also kept running tests on his powers and having him perform numerous feats in order to gage him.

Shaun had been able to test out his physical abilities on some statues and large objects his aunt had set up, he found he his new found strength was enough to break through the statues with ease. However the strange energy like abilities he had displayed on the first night seemed to not work ever since, at least not the same way. Shaun had tried to use them, but all he had succeeded in doing was make his hands glow slightly.

Ivy theorised that it was possible that during the first night of his abilities activating he had been able to call upon them easier as his body had been in a state of overcharge and his body had been overflowing with whatever power it was, and now that it had cooled down, the energy was not as easy to access, and now it would take time and practice to hone, Shaun thought that made sense and wanted to test out his powers even more, so she allowed him to roam around the Botanical Gardens.

Shaun spent hours running around and testing his new speed, strength and agility, and continued to practice his gymnastics. He revelled in the use of his powers that enhanced his ability, though he had almost given Ivy a heart attack when he jumped down from a very tall tree, only to land on the ground unharmed.

Ivy discovered that Shaun seemed to eat a lot more than before as well, she expected as much due to his body's metabolism increasing to compensate for his abilities. This led to a rather interesting shopping trip, which included Shaun getting new clothes to fit him.

During this time he kept asking Ivy why so many girls where starring at him in the clothing store, much to the Villainess's annoyance, though she couldn't blame the girls for not knowing the truth. That still didn't stop her from remembering the fact that technically he was five years old, despite his body being that of a fifteen year old.

Ivy had placed a cap on his head while he was outside, not wanting his hair to attract attention, despite the blonde hair still being dominant, the various streaks of green were enough to draw attention. Shaun didn't seem to protest it either, as he didn't like the streaks in his hair at all, though Ivy knew why.

Shaun was currently sitting on the couch in one of Ivy's many rooms at her hideout and watching television and eating a bowl of fruit loops.

His fourth bowl.

Ivy was going to join him when she heard one of the sensors go off.

She had installed several sensors a few days after Shaun arrived, quickly moving over to check one of the monitors she relaxed when she saw it was only Selina.

Walking to the entrance of her hideout Ivy gave the whip carrying thief a smile as she sauntered in.

"Hey Pammy, miss me?" she asked as Ivy gave a small snort.

"Not really, I only just got rid of the smell of kitty litter and cat fur from your last visit Selina" she said jokingly.

Selina merely rolled her eyes before walking up the stone stairs and into the hideout with Ivy.

Ivy was planning on how she'd break the news to Selina, about Shaun.

Ivy and Selina where Harley's two best friends and partners in crime, at least when she wasn't running around with the Joker, and the thus Shaun had known Selina and Ivy virtually his whole life, Selina was one of his aunts and he adored her as he did Ivy.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about a new hideout; I was thinking about moving into the Gotham City Animal Shelter, ever since it lost funding the place has been empty" she explained.

"I was thinking maybe you might want to move in too, there's an abundance of space and plenty of areas for you to do your thing" Selina said as she gently petted a Venus flytrap on one of the windowsills, only for it to hiss lightly at her.

Ivy gave a small sigh.

"I'll consider it, it might be nice for a change" she said before slowing her pace.

"Look, Selina there's something I have to tell you, you might need to sit down" she said as Selina looked at her with confusion.

"What is it?" she asked, however before Ivy could respond Selina heard a voice call out from ahead of them.

"Aunt Selina!"

Suddenly she felt two arms wrap around her and hoist her off the ground into a tight hug. Selina turned to see the person holding her was a somewhat familiar looking blond teenager who was smiling at her widely.

"W-What?!" Selina exclaimed before Ivy spoke up.

"Shaun, please put her down, I haven't told her yet"

"Oh" he said before placing Selina back on the ground and giving them a sheepish smile.

"Whoops"

Selina looked at the teenager with wide eyes of disbelief before turning to Ivy.

"Did you say…..Shaun!?"

Ivy gave a sigh before placing a hand on Selina's shoulder.

"I said you might need to sit down, this will take some explaining" she said to her friend as they made their way into the kitchen area.

 **(line break)**

It took nearly half an hour to explain to Selina what had happened to Shaun and what they had been doing the past two weeks, the thief kept looking over at Shaun who sat on a stool behind the countertop swinging his legs back and forth absentmindedly as the two women talked.

"So…you're still you….just older….and with powers?" she asked Shaun who nodded with a smile.

"His brain has accelerated his learning capabilities since the incident, he's been learning more and more every day, his personality hasn't changed too drastically, but there's no telling if it will in the near future" Ivy said to Selina.

"But you still haven't told me why all those girls were looking at me funny the other day when we went shopping" Shaun said innocently, causing Selina to give him a look of confusion.

"What do you mean?" Selina asked as Ivy let out a groan.

"A lot of girls kept starin' at me, some of them like this" he said before dropping his jaw slightly and starring.

Selina instantly caught on to what he meant, however Shaun continued.

"And some were lookin' like this" he continued, this time his eyes looking dazed and his mouth twisting into a grin.

Selina tried not to snicker as Shaun did another look.

"And one of them looked at me like this" he said before his eyes narrowed and his lips pouted out.

He then dropped the look and threw his hands out beside him in exasperation.

"What does that even mean!" he exclaimed confused.

Selina turned to Ivy with a smirk.

"You haven't told him about those things?" she questioned, causing the other woman to frown at her.

"It's not relevant" she said flatly, Selina turned to look at Shaun's form.

"It looks relevant" Selina shot back at her.

"He doesn't need to know about that, he's only six!" Ivy said.

"Maybe, but he doesn't look six, and I'm sure he's going to start realising that soon" Selina said smirking.

Shaun noticed they were talking between themselves at the moment and was worried something was wrong.

"Hey, are you guy's talkin' about me?" he asked with concern, causing the two to turn to face him.

"Oh no, is there something wrong! Am I sick!" Shaun asked fearfully.

"I don't wanna go to the hospital! They'll just have nurses stick needles into me, I hate needles!" he continued to rant, Ivy was about to calm him down when Selina interrupted.

"Don't worry squirt, the way you are now I'm sure a nurse would let you stick something in-"

"SELINA!" Ivy yelled out slapping a hand on the other woman's mouth before she could continue her sentence.

Shaun only looked more confused.

 **(line break)**

Shaun was now sitting in the lounging area again on the couch watching cartoons, a small pad of paper in his hand as he tried to draw one of the characters on the screen; however the phone stationed in the next room began to ring.

Standing up and walking into the next room Shaun was about to answer it when he remembered that his Aunt had told him not to answer it under any circumstances. So he let the phone keep ringing as he walked over into the kitchen area, and opened the fridge.

Retrieving a small bottle of orange juice, he closed the fridge and began moving over to the countertop when the phone let out a beep, signalling a message was being left on the phone, Shaun only half paid attention as he pulled out a small glass and prepared to pour himself some juice, when the voice over the message caught his ears.

" _R-Red, It's me"_

Shaun instantly froze and the glass he was holding fell to the floor, the sound of smashing glass not registering as his mother's voice continued over the phone.

" _I….I don't know how to explain what's happened…."_ she continued, her voice sounding choked up and it was obviously she was crying.

" _Look…I'm gonna be at your place in a few days, I-I Just really need ya right now"_

Shaun's whole body was shaking slightly as she continued.

"… _..Red….Shaun he's…"_ she began, only to start crying more heavily.

" _M-My baby!...My l-little boy….he's…I don't even know whe-"_ she continued only for Shaun to suddenly grip the phone and tear it off the wall, he then threw it on the floor and fell to his knees, punching the phone again and again, breaking through the linoleum floor and into the concrete below it, he kept punching again and again, until there was nothing left but broken bits of plastic buried in a elbow length hole in the concrete, cracks spilling out around the hole as Shaun withdrew his hand and tried to steady his breathing.

She was going to come here.

She'd find him, and if she did…..than he would end up-

No!

He couldn't let that happen.

He wouldn't let it happen.

Shaun jumped up and quickly ran out of the room, jumping over the couch and up the hall towards his room, passing a concerned Ivy and Selina who had been on their way to check out the noise they'd heard in the kitchen.

As soon as he reached his room he grabbed an empty backpack and threw a shirt before beginning to throw in other items.

Ivy and Selina both entered the door to see Shaun frantically grabbing things around the room and trying to stuff them into a small backpack.

"And just where do you think you're going?" she asked him with folded arms, Shaun turned to them fearfully.

"I gotta get outta here!" he exclaimed as he continued to stuff things into the bag.

"She's gonna come here!"

"Who's going to come here?" Selina asked.

"My Mother!"

Ivy exchanged a concerned look with Selina before turning back to Shaun, she walked over towards him.

"She called on the phone, I didn't answer but I heard her message, she's going to come here in the next few days" Shaun explained.

"Shaun, just calm down, we can figure this out" Ivy said to him calmly.

"No, I have to leave, It's only a matter of time before she finds me if I stay here" Shaun said.

Ivy looked at him in disbelief.

"You can't be serious, where are you going to go?!" she asked, Selina spoke up.

"He could stay with me" she suggested, only for Shaun to shake his head.

"No, she'd probably wind up visiting you eventually" he said dismissing the idea.

Ivy grabbed the backpack off the bed before Shaun could continue trying to put more stuff inside it and gave him a stern look.

"I'm not just going to let you run off on your own, it's too dangerous, besides you're just a kid" she said firmly.

"But I'm not! Look at me" he replied.

"Where would you stay, huh?" she asked.

"How would you look after yourself, what happens if you need out of money, what then?!" she exclaimed.

"I'll figure it out" he said before trying to reach for the backpack only for Ivy to stand up and move away from him.

"Shaun, you're not leaving!" she said strongly, Shaun looked down at the floor for a few moments, Ivy and Selina could see him shaking slightly.

"Shaun?" Selina asked softly, he looked up at them with a tear filled expression, he sniffled slightly before speaking.

"I…..I can't go back with her, not again!" he choked out.

The two women were both filled with sadness and concern as he sat down on the bed; they both walked over and sat beside him.

"You remember all those times me and mom would end up here, she was either bruised or banged up or I was, sometimes the both of us" he said recalling all the times they had shown up hurt at Ivy's.

"And then sometimes I got dragged off to foster homes, though that would never last, the longest one I was in was only two months. I would love it when she came and got me out again, but then we'd wind up back with him!" he spat out, meaning the Joker.

"And he'd hurt her, or me. But she'd always drag me back there! Even when I begged her not too she'd always take me back to him!" he exclaimed getting more worked up.

"You remember that time he put me in a coma, it was only a few months back" he said as Ivy's fists were now gripped tightly, she remembered that incident with fury.

"He beat me… broke my left arm and a few ribs, and kicked me down a flight of stairs….I was in a coma for three weeks due to head trauma" Shaun explained his eyes clenched shut before opening, his blue eyes twisted into a glare.

"And yet, I ended up back with him again, thanks to her!" he said standing up and walking slowly towards the mirror he had on the wall, starring back at his reflection.

"I pleaded with her, begged her to let me stay with you two, I didn't want to leave again" he said, his voice cracking as more tears welled up in his eyes, he kept starring at his reflection in the mirror.

Ivy felt the need to wrap him in a hug, and tell him everything was going to be ok, but the teenager continued.

"You two are more like my moms, I'd prefer it if you were my parents instead of them!"

Both women couldn't help but smile at his words, yet Ivy tried to sooth him.

"Shaun, your mother does care for y-" Ivy began only for Shaun to cut her off.

"Hah! I might still be learning Aunt Ivy, but there's one thing I do know, Mothers are supposed to protect their children" he began with a frown.

"Sure my mom would help me after I'm hurt, or bring me here and have you help me get better, but do you know how many times she actually stepped in and stopped my fath….The Joker, from hurting me" he asked, having not called The Joker his father.

Both villainesses' gave him sad looks as he tried to wipe away the tears that were gathering in his eyes again.

"I can count the times on one hand! She didn't even stop him when he threw me into the vat of chemicals! She could've stopped him but she didn't!" he said angrily.

"And all the other times he hurt me, she'd say 'Oh don't worry, that's just his way of showing you he cares' or suggesting that I help out more" he said with disgust.

"Well sorry if I don't like hurting innocent people!" he exclaimed, getting more and more worked up.

"And as for that 'showing you he cares' crap, what person calls child abuse and damn near killing their kid as showing them he cares…..that's just…..just….Arrrrrrggggggghhhhh!" Shaun finished with a scream as he grabbed a framed picture on the nearby dresser and tossed it at the far wall of the room.

Shaun's entire body became surrounded by an orange Aura of energy that sent Ivy and Selina tumbling back slightly as well as many items in the room.

He screamed as the aura seemed to ignite, after a moment it slowly faded as he fell to his knees, his breathing heavier and his head buried in his hands, his body shook as the tell-tale signs of crying overtook him.

The two women recovered from their surprise and made their way over to their nephew, Ivy placing one hand on his head and another on his hands and slowly moved his head up into view, he was snivelling and his eyes were completely flowing with tears as Ivy tried to wipe his face.

"I-I'm sorry….I…I didn't mean to" he whimpered out, Ivy merely pulled him into a strong hug, Selina rubbing circles into his back as his body shook as he continued to cry, Ivy held onto him as he did so, assuring him that it was ok.

"Shaun, sweetheart, about you leaving-" Ivy began, only to stop as Shaun raised his head up to meet her gaze, she instantly lost any argument she was contemplating as she saw his absolute tear stricken face, it was enough to stop her as he managed to respond.

"P-Please…" he begged her, letting out another whimper as she stared back into his blue eyes; they were bloodshot and puffy from crying.

Ivy glanced up at Selina who was still rubbing his back gently; they shared a look for a few seconds as the cat thief gave her a small nod, Ivy closed her eyes for a few seconds before letting out a small sigh.

"You'll need a bigger pack than that one" she said slowly, Shaun's eyes widened after several seconds as he registered what she had said.

"BUT, you're staying tonight, and we'll sort out everything else tomorrow" she said sternly.

"And I'm going to be laying some strict rules down that you will be obeying, and if you don't obey them, you can count on me coming after you and forcing you back here kicking and screaming if I have to" she said firmly, before being engulfed into a stronger embrace than the one she was in a minute ago as Shaun gripped her tightly and kept muttering his thanks over and over again.

After a few minutes they got up and left the room, which was now messy thanks to Shaun's earlier antics, and Shaun took a shower.

As he did Ivy and Selina sat at the table in the room opposite the kitchen and next to the lounging area.

There was a lot they would have to talk about, and even more so about how they were going to keep it a secret from Harley.


	3. Moving out and Moving in

**Iamgoku: Hi everybody ! we're here with the second chapter of my spin off/Prequel to Intangible ,which follows my character, Shaun Jaymes Quinzel, and the two year journey before he became a member of the Justice League's Youth program.**

 **Intangible as you may know was original titled 'Invisible' and 'syoc' originally authored by 'AC333', which the first 10 chapters were written solely by her, before I began co-writing in chapter 11, and continued to do so until chapter 23. AC333 decided to let me adopt the story after she desired to re-write it, not wanting the version we had both worked so hard on to die, I am now posting and continuing it on my account, with AC being m a consultant on various characters.**

 **Now 'Intangible' and 'Blaze Year One' are both sequels to her story 'Suicide Squad' which takes place in Justice League following the Thanagarian invasion and Shayera's decision to quit the League, it is completed and can be found at the link below, I urge you to read that first, as it has several plot points that come up in 'Intangible' that you might get confused with otherwise.**

s/11134687/1/Suicide-Squad **.**

 **And before we continue, I would like to thank AC333 once again for allowing me to continue this story that we have both worked so hard on, and found friends in one another through doing so.**

 **Disclaimer: All DC characters are property of DC (duh).**

(line break)

After the exhausting day he had been through, Shaun had finally managed to get to sleep, as he lay asleep in his bed his mind relaxed and let a peaceful dream overtake him.

 _ **(Dream)**_

 _He found himself running along a long hallway, the walls and surroundings were luxurious and exotic in appearance._

 _His small legs ran through the halls as the four year old was looking for someone._

 _Running into one room he saw an older girl who was sitting and putting together a model of some kind, her face seemed to be blurred white and their identity wasn't clear though she had dark hair._

 _Shaun found himself calling out to her in a young sounding voice._

" _Komi!" he yelled out happily, causing the older girl to let out an annoyed sigh._

" _Play with me!" he said as he pulled on her arm, the older girl merely shook her arm out of his grip._

" _Urrghh I'm far too busy to be playing your stupid little games, go annoy somebody else" she said harshly before picking up the model she was working on and walking away, leaving him all alone._

 _Shaun felt a wave of slight sadness wash over him, before he smiled and ran off in another direction._

 _The scene around him seemed to shift to another area, Shaun found himself outside in a garden full of strange looking trees and plants. However the appearance of another person caught his attention, it was another older girl, though this one was younger than the previous._

 _She too had her face blurred; Shaun couldn't make it out, though she scooped him up in her arms._

" _You found me!" he exclaimed smiling to her._

" _Hahaha, I will always find you Ryand'r" the girl said in a happy tone._

" _You can't hide from me" she said before proceeding to tickle the younger boy in the stomach, causing him laugh out loud and squirm in her grip._

" _Hahahaha-No-ahahaha-Stop sister-hahahaha" he called out in-between laughs._

 _ **RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING**_

 _ **(Dream End)**_

 _ **RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING**_

Shaun woke up to the sound of the alarm clock near his bed ringing loudly, yawning slightly he reached over and hit the snooze button before sitting up.

' _What a weird dream'_ He thought to himself, as he thought back to the dream he had, it seemed so real and vivid.

Shaking off the strange dream he got up and fixed the covers back onto his bed before heading to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

 **(With Ivy and Selina)**

Ivy hadn't gotten a lot of sleep that night; she had been too stressed over the events of yesterday and what would happen today.

She and Selina had discussed things at length and what to do. They both conceded it was best for Shaun to be kept away from Harley, for his own good. And even Ivy had to agree that Harley would come to the Botanical Gardens and they just couldn't risk her finding him.

But she still didn't like Shaun's idea.

Despite the fact that his body was older and he was catching up and learning things at an amazing rate, she still viewed him as a kid, a five year old boy.

Well he was technically turning six in another three months.

Ivy and Selina were currently laying out items in one of the living room areas as well as a larger backpack to fit it all in when Shaun came into the room, clad in a pair of dark jeans and a red t-shirt with his hair still damp, a blue towel draped his shoulders.

"Morning" he called out before walking over into the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of juice, opening it he walked back over to where the two of them were and sat down,

"Ok, so we've gotten some things ready for you" Selina said motioning to the table which had various items placed on it.

"First and foremost is this" Ivy said as she picked up a black iPhone.

"You keep this near you at all times" she said seriously. "I'll be calling you twice a day starting tomorrow, and tonight I'll call you at seven PM, if you don't pick up I'll know something is wrong" she said as he nodded and put the phone in his pocket.

Next Selina bought out a small box and opened it, revealing a few small stacks of hundred dollar bills.

"I put enough cash in here to put you up at a hotel for two weeks and buy yourself food and a few other expenses, after two weeks I'll have an apartment set up for you" Selina said, catching Shaun by surprise.

"Apartment?" he asked.

Selina nodded.

"Don't worry I have enough money put away to buy tons of apartments, comes in handy when I need to buy a new hideout. I'll set you up in a penthouse somewhere in Gotham" she said.

Shaun looked apprehensive about the idea.

"Aunt Selina I can't ask you to do that" he said softly, causing Selina to place a hand on his shoulder.

"Good thing you're not asking. I'm telling you" she said firmly, before placing the small box at the bottom of the backpack.

"I marked a few good hotels on the Map application on your phone, when I call you tonight I expect you to be in one of them" Ivy said as Shaun nodded.

"Ok" Shaun said nodding, before looking over at a few of the other items. There was a few changes of clothing, mostly warm clothing as November was a cold month. Besides the clothing there were a few books and a wallet also containing some cash.

"Shaun" Ivy said after a moment, gaining his attention.

"Yeah?"

"I don't like the idea of you being out there by yourself" she said, Shaun was about to say something in reply when she continued.

"The only reason we're letting you leave is because of your new abilities, it gives you something to protect yourself with." She said walking over towards him and placing her hands on his shoulders.

"But if anything happens, and I mean anything" she said firmly. "You call us immediately."

"Yeah ok, Auntie" Shaun said with a slight groan.

Ivy's expression faltered slightly as she looked down.

"I know I might nag you sometimes, and I'm sorry" she began.

"But…..Since I can't ever have children of my own…" Ivy continued, her voice wavering slightly.

"It's ok Auntie, you don't need to say it" Shaun said, closing his eyes.

"I think of you as my own" she finished as Shaun moved closer and wrapped his arms around her.

"I know Auntie…I know" he said softly as he felt her eyes moisten slightly into his shirt.

"Stay safe" she said as Selina walked over, having filled the backpack up with items that had been on the table, when Ivy released Shaun from the hug, Selina passed the backpack to him.

"You better not get yourself into trouble kid" she said as she pulled him into a hug, when she backed away she had a smirk on her face.

"Well, at least not any trouble we wouldn't get into" she said as Ivy gave a scoff as she wiped her eyes, a smile on her face.

"I'll try" Shaun said smirking before he reached down towards the couch and pulled up a black jacket and put it on before placing the backpack on his right shoulder.

Ivy and Selina both watched as he stood there for a moment, seemingly preparing himself internally before he stepped forward and pulled them both into another hug, stronger than theirs as they found themselves squeezed up against each other.

"Thank you" he whispered softly.

The two Gotham villainess didn't respond, but leaned closer and enjoyed the hug before Shaun released them.

He gave them one last smile before turning towards the door and heading off.

"Don't forget, I'll be calling you tonight!" Ivy called out to him.

"Got it" Shaun called back as he continued towards the exit.

As the two women watched him leave their line of sight Ivy turned to Selina.

"Why do I have the feeling this just started an incredible chain of events of epic proportions?" she asked, Selina turned to her dryly.

"Because you're a paranoid drama queen, that's why"

 **(Later)**

It was now late afternoon and Shaun was sitting in a taxi, looking out the window with a bored expression.

He had gone to two of the hotels his aunt's had marked on the map, but the first had no room available due to a large function taking place there, and the second one was shut down for repairs, apparently there had been a fight between Batman and Mr Freeze which had taken place inside the building and now it needed several floors repaired.

Shaun was now heading to another hotel that was marked on his phone's map.

However the taxi suddenly came to a stop, Shaun looked up to see they weren't at a traffic light, the driver let out a whispered groan.

"What is it?" Shaun asked.

"Seems like a car accident up ahead, some truck's smashed into a light pole." He said with annoyance.

Shaun rolled the window down and looked out to see all the cars in front of them were also stopped, and far down the street he could see the aforementioned truck the driver spoke off, police were at the scene.

"We might be here awhile" the driver said as he sat back.

Shaun pulled the phone out again and checked the map, the hotel was only about a half hour's walk from where they currently were, and looking at the current predicament he decided walking might be the best decision.

"I'll just get out here then" Shaun said as he pulled out the wallet Selina had given him and passed the driver the fair he owed him so far before stepping out of the taxi and onto the sidewalk, making sure to grab his backpack he shut the door and walked ahead.

Checking the phone once more Shaun checked the current street before nodding and walking straight ahead.

After a few minutes of walking Shaun was now in a less populated street, there were no cars going through it as the police had blocked off the road he had walked past in order to remove the truck that had crashed.

"Hmm, shouldn't be too far now" he said to himself as he walked along, however a sound caught his attention, it was coming from an alley to the left of him.

Turning he saw a man on the ground, three other men standing above him, they looked like typical thugs and their actions certainly proved it as one of the men kicked the fallen man in the ribs, causing him to let out a cry of pain.

Shaun stood still, his eyes looking around for anyone he could call out to for help, however he saw no one.

Turning back to the alley he saw the man who had kicked the fallen man moments ago pull out a gun from his jacket and level it with the fallen man's face.

That's when Shaun moved.

 **(Unknown Man's POV)**

He let out a frightened cry as he scampered back towards the dumpster behind him his eyes wide with fear and staring back at the barrel of the gun in his face.

The three men had jumped him walking past the alley, stolen his wallet and had beaten him up for the past few minutes, despite his pleas.

And now as he looked at the weapon pointed at his face, his body was shaking as the three men laughed at his expression.

"Time's up" the man said as his finger gripped the trigger.

"N-No please!" he cried despite knowing it was futile, he would be dead in a matter of second.

However the shot never came as suddenly the thief holding the gun was thrown back into the back of the alley dropping his gun before his body hit the chain link fence hard before falling to the ground.

The man looked up to see a younger teenager standing there with both his arms outstretched, as if he had slammed them into the thief. He then turned to the thief to his left and pushed him with his left hand with force, sending him flying into the brick wall with a loud thud, before he fell to the floor motionless.

The final thief tried reaching down to the gun that was lying on the ground, but before he could he was grabbed by his shirt and lifted up by the teen and thrown back towards the chain link fence and falling to the ground, landing on the other thief and falling unconscious.

 **(Shaun's POV)**

Shaun stood there for a moment, his breathing was heavier but not from exertion, he was trying to fully comprehend what he had just done.

Glancing down at the ground for a moment he saw the gun lying on the cold wet ground, and reached down picking it up, he grabbed the barrel in one hand and the handle in the other and in one swift motion ripped the gun in half and dropped it, the bullets clattering against the pavement.

Taking a deep breath he turned to see the person he had stopped from being shot, he was a young man, in his early twenties from the looks of it, with brown hair that was slightly dishevelled from what had happened, he had green eyes and fair skin.

The man was still on the ground and starring in shock at the unconscious thieves before looking up at Shaun, the same look of shock still on his face.

"Y-You…You just saved my life" he said in awe, his voice had a British accent to it.

He looked to be still shaken up from the experience and still comprehending what had happened.

Shaun was in a similar boat.

"Y-Yeah…" Shaun replied simply, not knowing what else to say.

After about a minute, Shaun reached down and offered him his hand, the man took it and Shaun helped him to his feet.

The man looked over at one of the thieves lying near the chain link fence.

"What is it?" Shaun asked as he looked to where the thieves were.

"The one who….who was going to shoot me…he took my wallet" he said as he looked at the unconscious man with slight fear, worried to approach him.

Shaun nodded before slowly walking over towards them, he turned the man over easily and saw a bulge underneath his jackets breast pocket, reaching into it he pulled out a dark brown leather wallet, turning to the man for confirmation, and he received a nod.

Walking over to him and handing the wallet back, Shaun watched as he looked through it before placing it back in his pants pocket.

The man than turned to Shaun, a grateful and relieved expression on his face.

"Thank you so much" he said earnestly. "I'll never be able to repay you for saving me"

Shaun rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, not really knowing how to respond, though before he could attempt to, his stomach let out a growl of hunger.

"Oh man" Shaun said rubbing his stomach, before looking up to the exit of the alley with a confused expression before turning back to the man.

"You wouldn't happen to know any places to eat around here would ya?" Shaun asked sheepishly.

The man blinked twice before snapping to attention and nodding. "Oh, yes of course" he said before walking forward, Shaun following at his side.

"My names Shaun by the way" he said offering his hand to the man, after a few moments he returned the handshake.

"My names Marcus" he said. "Marcus Watson"

 **(Next Scene)**

Marcus now sat across from Shaun; they were both in a diner that Marcus knew was close to where they had met.

A hot cup of tea was in front of him, though he wasn't drinking it, he was too busy staring at Shaun, who was currently devouring food at a fast rate.

Shaun shovelled several pieces of bacon into his mouth and chewed it ravenously, before doing the same with a whole fried egg, he then picked up a glass of orange juice and took a large gulp of it before turning to a plate of pancakes and continued eating.

He had already eaten several plates of food before this, Marcus was wondering how he wasn't full, or at least hadn't choked yet at the amount of food he was eating this quickly.

"How did you do that?" Marcus asked.

Shaun looked up, a look of confusion on his face.

"Do what?" he said after swallowing another mouthful of food.

"You tossed those guys around like they were nothing" Marcus replied. "Are…Are you an alien or something?"

Shaun let out a small laugh.

"No, I'm not an alien, as far as I know" he said with amusement and smiling at the older man.

"Then how did you do all that?" Marcus asked with interest.

"I was in a...Accident recently" Shaun said seriously, a far off look on his face. "And now I can do things"

"What sort of things?" Marcus asked casually, while he was thinking to himself what sort of accident the teen had been in to cause such changes.

"Well I'm stronger, faster, and more agile than before. I'm pretty tough too." Shaun said before pausing momentarily and taking another bite of food before speaking.

"Plus I got this energy inside me"

Marcus seemed confused at the answer, but said nothing as Shaun continued eating

"That's…interesting" Marcus replied after having thought over what he'd just been told.

"My Aunt thinks I can do more with it, but I have to figure it out first" Shaun said before taking another sip of his juice.

"You live with your Aunt?" Marcus asked as he took a sip from his own cup.

Shaun shook his head.

"Nah, not anymore" he said after a moment's hesitation.

Marcus looked concerned.

"Did she kick you out or something?" he asked.

Shaun quickly shook his head. "Oh no no, nothing like that" he said quickly.

"I kinda moved out"

"Do you have a place to stay?" Marcus asked, he had an idea but wanted to hear what Shaun had to say first.

"Not at the moment, I was going to go check into a hotel, but then I ran into you" Shaun said before taking another bite out of his food.

Marcus looked down at his cup while in thought.

' _Maybe I should invite him to stay with me'_ Marcus thought to himself.

While it was unwise to invite someone into your home after having only just met them an hour earlier, for some strange reason he did feel like he could trust Shaun. The younger teen didn't seem to have any ill intentions towards him, and there was the fact that he had saved Marcus's life when he could have just walked on past and let him be shot.

Yeah, he felt he could trust him.

Marcus looked up at Shaun after a few more moments, to see him eating still, and gave him a small smile.

"I might be able to help you out with someplace to stay" he said as Shaun looked on curiously.

 **(Next Scene)**

Stepping off at the subway station Shaun and Marcus walked down the flight of stairs leading down to the street. Shaun could see a few stores and shops open around them, and they were coming up to a row of apartment buildings.

On the subway ride over, Shaun had told him that he had been staying with his two Aunts' previously, though hadn't given much away other than that.

"Most of these are abandoned or unoccupied along this street, though the other streets and surrounding blocks have plenty of people, that's why the stores are open and there's people around" Marcus explained as he saw Shaun's inquisitive expression.

"So you own an apartment up here?" Shaun asked, Marcus gave a small smile and nodded.

"In a manner of speaking" he said as they approached a three story apartment complex, it looked in better condition than some of its neighbouring buildings.

"I own this" Marcus said pointing to the apartment building.

Shaun looked at Marcus with a confused expression.

"What do you mean?"

Marcus gave a small chuckle.

"I own the building"

Shaun's eyes widened at that statement before he turned and looked at the building for a few seconds.

"Seriously!" he asked.

"Yep" Marcus replied smiling as they walked up to the front door, Marcus taking out a key and unlocking it.

"Wow, how could you own a place this big?" Shaun asked as they stepped inside the main foyer.

"I got it at a good price" Marcus said as they walked past the foyer, Shaun could see doors on each sides of the wide hall they were on and a few elevators and a utility closet.

They walked up the large stairs three flights until reaching the final level, Marcus opened one of the doors to a large apartment, it had obviously been smaller, though he had renovated it and knocked a wall down to extend it.

Marcus walked him through the lounging area and showed him the kitchen, a large TV sat in the corner on the wall, which was obviously a living room style set up.

Shaun walked around and saw some windows overlooking the street, and a large bookshelf on the wall, and a hallway leading to more rooms.

He spotted some frames near the bookshelf and took a closer look to see that they were degrees.

"Woah, you must be really smart, what are all these for anyway" Shaun asked as Marcus was putting some bottles of water into the fridge.

"Oh, those" he replied flippantly. "I've got some degrees and . in Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Robotics and Electrical Engineering. I also try and keep up on other stuff too" he said casually as Shaun was staring at him with wide eyes.

"You're like a genius" he said with the same expression still on his face.

Marcus waved it off modestly.

"Hey, before you put your stuff away, want to see something cool?" Marcus asked.

Shaun put his bag down on the couch near the television and turned back to him, nodding before following Marcus.

They walked out of the apartment and into the hall, Marcus walked past two elevators before arriving at a fire escape door, he opened it to reveal a brick wall.

Shaun stared at the bricks for a moment before turning to Marcus with a raised eyebrow.

"Check this out" Marcus said as he pointed to two bricks that looked only slightly different to the others, placing both hands up and on the bricks Shaun saw a small flash of light.

"Fingerprint scanners" he said patting Shaun's shoulder, as the brick wall slid to the side revealing a brightly lit elevator with glass walls and metal hinges.

"Woah" Shaun said as they stepped inside, Marcus pressed a button on the interior and the elevator started descending.

"I found during some renovations, that there was a sub-basement below the normal one of the building." Marcus explained. "It was left behind from an abandoned sewer project back in the 80's,I managed to fix it up with and connect it with the upper basement, as well as get this elevator working. I also got power and lighting fixed up." Marcus said as the elevator came to a stop.

The doors opened to reveal a large room; there was a raised platform near the centre of the room with a circular hub and what looked like several computers and monitors, only a few lights were on in some places.

Shaun could also see several tables and boxes around the room in various places as well as work benches and machinery, he could also see several doors and a corridor leading off to what he suspected was more rooms.

"I mostly use it for storage or to work on my projects, it's also my own little sanctuary" he said as they walked over to the computers.

"I've been meaning to fix it up a bit more, but there's only so much I can do by myself" he said as he typed in a command and the room lit up even more.

Shaun walked over to one of the work benches and saw what looked like an unfinished robotic arm with some notes saying it was for an auto-assembling bot in car factories; there were also blueprints for a whole host of other designs and inventions.

"What do you do with all these?" Shaun asked.

"Oh it depends, I sometimes get copyright on them, or sell them to companies, or let them manufacture them while getting a percentage of profits. Other times I might just donate them to universities" Marcus said as Shaun nodded absentmindedly.

He walked around a little more while Marcus checked over the robotic arm, a small workbench caught his eye, and walking over to it Shaun saw a length of yellow fabric stretched out over the table.

Running his hand along it, he admired the feeling of the material, after a few moments he turned away from it and called out to Marcus.

"Hey do you mind if I go back upstairs, I was going to organise my stuff now?" Shaun asked.

"Oh sure thing" Marcus said as he turned back from his workbench. "And theirs fresh towels in the closet near the kitchen if you want to shower or anything"

Shaun nodded and stepped back into the elevator and pressed the third floor.

As the elevator travelled up he thought about his situation, he was lucky to have ran into Marcus, as he now had a place to stay. He kept thinking back to what had happened in the alley; he had frozen up and was unsure what to do. But when the thief pulled the gun out, it was like his body just moved before he could comprehend what he was doing.

But he did feel good inside, to have stopped them from killing Marcus, who so far seemed like a really nice guy, he wasn't used to people other than his Aunts being nice to him, it was strange.

But good strange.

 **(Later scene)**

Shaun had placed his things into one of the spare rooms in Marcus extended apartment, the room was down the hall from the kitchen and near the bathroom. After putting his things on the bed he had gone and grabbed a clean towel and decided to take a shower, it would help relax him after the long day he had.

However he had absentmindedly forgotten that his Aunt was going to call him, and was currently in the shower as the phone was ringing in his room.

 **(With Ivy and Selina: A minute earlier)**

Selina had decided to stay over with Ivy for the night, the two women had passed the time by playing cards, watching a movie, and had a few drinks. They were now watching TV when Ivy noticed the time.

"I had better call Shaun and see if he'd checked in" Ivy said as he picked up her mobile from the coffee table and went to her contacts before pressing the number for Shaun's new phone.

Ivy waited as the dial tone continued to play out, though after a few chimes she felt worry start to develop in her gut.

"He's not picking up" she said as Selina turned to her.

"Give it a few seconds" she said calmly.

Ivy waited a few more seconds before the dial tone cut out.

"He didn't answer!" she said with concern as she stood up.

"Ok calm down Pammy, he could just be in the bathroom. Try calling him again before getting all worked up" Selina said with a calm expression, though inside she was feeling nervous and a bit worried herself.

Ivy called once more and waited for him to pick up the phone.

And waited

And waited

The dial tone cut out again, and she sent a worried look to Selina, whose expression now too was filled with concern.

"Ok, maybe now you can get worked up" she said as she hopped up and followed Ivy into the other room where she had a few computers set up.

"I'm checking the tracking device we put in his phone" Ivy said as she typed into the computer and watched as a map came up, it zoomed in a few times as it found Shaun's phones GPS tracker and pinpointed his location.

Ivy sent the location to her phone before jumping up and grabbing her coat she had draped over the kitchen counter.

"Let's go" she said as Selina followed her, grabbing her whip before the two ran out the door in a hurry.

 **(Next Scene)**

Shaun was back in the room and checking it out, it was bigger than the room he had at Aunt Ivy's. The walls were a light blue colour and there was a fan hanging from the ceiling, a wardrobe was in the right corner of the room near the door, he had already put his clothes in it.

There was one window facing outside towards the street, he looked out to see the moon high in the sky.

 **(With Marcus)**

Marcus had just come back to the apartment after leaving the sub-basement; he had tinkered with a few of his designs before returning.

Walking over to the kitchen he filled a kettle with water before turning it on, the water began to slowly heat up.

He walked over towards the couch and was about to call out to Shaun to see if he was finished in the room, when suddenly the door to the apartment flew open.

Before Marcus could comprehend what was happening he found himself thrown back into the wall behind him by a large vine.

The vine then proceeded to wrap around him and constrict as it held him off the ground.

This was followed by two women walking into the apartment through the front door, his eyes widened with recognition as he saw Poison Ivy and Catwoman standing there, both with chilling glares on their faces.

Marcus tried to call out to Shaun for help, but found his chest suddenly constricted tighter by the vine as Ivy and Catwoman walked towards him, Ivy's hand clenched into a fist.

"Where is he!" Ivy growled out slowly, Catwoman turned to looked around before turning back to their captive.

Marcus tried making some form of response, still not understanding why they were here, however a voice called out catching everyone's attention.

"Aunt Ivy, Aunt Selina?" Shaun said with confusion, causing Catwoman and Ivy to turn and see him standing there near the entrance to the room.

"Shaun!" they both called out with a mixture of shock and relief.

"What are you doing here and what are you doing to Marcus?" He asked in confusion and concern.

"We'll ask the questions here" Ivy said seriously with a frown.

"What on earth are you doing here, and who is this?" Ivy said pointing to Marcus who was still trapped up against the wall.

Shaun looked between them, looking at Marcus before turning to his Aunt's.

"Look I'll explain everything, but can you please put him down" he asked.

Ivy saw the look of genuine concern on his face and after a moment's hesitation, relinquished her vines hold on the other man.

Marcus fell to the floor and gave a gasp of air, before coughing a few times as he tried to regain his breath.

After a few moments he stood shakily on his feet, before turning to Shaun with wide eyes.

"They're your Aunts?!" he exclaimed with disbelief.

Shaun looked at everyone in the room before rubbing his neck slowly.

"I guess some explanations are in order, hehehe"

 **(Next Scene)**

Shaun, Ivy and Selina were now sitting at the counter in the kitchen; Marcus was standing on the other side.

Shaun had started off explaining why he was at the apartment building, and how he had met Marcus. He had also explained more in-depth to Marcus about the accident he had been in, though left out the part that the Joker and Harley Quinn were his parents.

He didn't want him to know that.

Marcus was now standing there with a perplexed expression on his face as he studied Shaun's features.

"So…You're five"

Shaun nodded innocently.

"Almost six"

Marcus then turned to Ivy.

"What were the chemicals he fell into again?" he asked.

Ivy shot him a distrustful look, though answered anyway.

"Its technical name is X-764" she answered, Marcus looked at her with disbelief before turning to Shaun.

"And you survived it?!"

Shaun nodded before giving him a questioning look.

"Yeah?"

Marcus shook his head.

"That chemical was first produces back in the 1970's, it was found that it could break down and destroy organic tissue easily, hell even a couple drops of it could poison and break down a human's body. It was going to be put into military use but the world governments agreed it was too dangerous, production was officially meant to be shut down by the 90's." Marcus explained.

"They probably made the batch up you fell into illegally"

Ivy spoke up.

"Anyway back to the matter at hand" she said before turning to Shaun.

"You're not staying here"

Shaun turned to her.

"What? Why!"

Ivy frowned. "Because, we don't want you living with someone you just met today"

Marcus spoke up. "I assure you I wouldn't-" he began only for Selina to cut him off.

"Yeah, see we're not going to take any chances, we don't know you and we sure as hell aren't leaving Shaun here" she said before turning to Shaun.

"So, pack up your stuff kid, we're leaving"

Shaun's expression fell before he spoke up.

"You said you would let me leave because I had my powers now, and I could protect myself, right?" He asked.

Ivy and Selina turned to each other before Ivy spoke up.

"Well yes, but-" she began, only for Shaun to interrupt.

"So you don't have to worry then. If he did try and hurt me I can defend myself" Shaun said before turning to Marcus.

"I don't think you would though" he said as Marcus nodded, trying to avoid the distrustful gaze of the two women.

"Shaun, just because you can defend yourself now doesn't mean you can trust someone you just met" Selina said evenly.

Shaun turned to her, and had a contemplative look on his face.

"What if you gave me a few days?" He asked, this made Selina and Ivy look at him in confusion.

"If I stay here a few days, and I'm ok, will you let me stay" he asked looking at them with hopeful eyes.

Ivy turned to Selina with a concerned look, Selina returned it with one of contemplation, after a few moments the two women turned back to Shaun.

"…We'll give you three days" Ivy said, causing Shaun to smile widely at her.

"If you still want to stay here, you can. But we'll will be dropping by regularly, and I'll be calling you every day!" Ivy said seriously.

"Hahaha, thanks" Shaun said happily, running around and pulling them into a hug.

"Why don't you show me your room?" Ivy said as she stood up.

Shaun nodded excitedly as he pulled Ivy along by her hand, before she left the room Ivy sent Selina a look, who nodded in understanding.

Marcus was about to strike up a conversation when he suddenly found himself pushed back out of his chair and held up against the wall again, Selina gripping him by the throat and pushing him back.

"Listen to me very carefully" she whispered to him seriously.

"We're going to let Shaun stay here, but just so we're clear" she said squeezing his throat tighter.

"You hurt him in anyway, or betray his trust, hell if you even make him cry" she growled out before raising her free hand and sharp claws extended out of her gloved hand.

"We will make you suffer" she said before bringing her claws down to his groin area.

"And it will be slow, and painful. And will most likely end with you in several pieces being fed to one of Ivy's plant's" she said glaring at him.

Without another word she dropped the man to the floor before retracting her claws.

Ivy and Shaun came back a few minutes later to see Selina and Marcus sitting at the table, Selina was sipping from a cup of coffee casually while Marcus seemed to be sitting up straight and holding a cup of tea rigidly.

"Well I think it's time we take our leave" Ivy said giving Shaun another hug and kissing him on the forehead before turning back to the other two.

"I'm sure you two had a nice chat?" she asked looking at them with a glint in her eye.

"Oh of course we had a great discussion" Selina said smiling back at her friend before she too stood up and said her goodbyes to Shaun.

The two villainess then made their way to the apartment door, looking back to wave and cast Marcus one last warning look before disappearing from view.

Shaun smiled before turning to Marcus.

"Aren't they great" he said as Marcus let out a breath of relief.

"Oh…yeah" Marcus replied.

"I can tell they really care about you" he said, rubbing his neck slightly where Selina had grabbed him.

His new roommate sure had some interesting family.

 **(With Ivy and Selina)**

Ivy lowered them down from one of the second story windows down to the street below with one of her vines; afterwards the two women began walking down the street together.

"I'm still not comfortable with this" Ivy said, Selina put her arm on Ivy's shoulder.

"Don't worry; I'm pretty sure we scared that Marcus guy into not doing anything stupid. And besides Shaun is right, he has his abilities now. What's the worst that could happen" Selina said as Ivy gave a small sigh.

"I suppose your right"

 **(FlashForward)**

 _Shaun ran along the alley, the fire from the building to his right was spilling smoke out of its upper windows. Marcus was standing with the crowd gathered out the front, as firefighters tried to fight the blaze, but couldn't get into the upper floors as the fire had destroyed the stairs and they couldn't get close enough to the windows with the ladders as the heat was too much for them to handle._

 _Running along he reached into his black bag and pulled out a pair of red gloves, quickly putting them on his hands he reached in and pulled out a pair of red boots, stopping momentarily he replaced his black sneakers with the boots and put them in the bag before he resumed running._

 _Seeing a fire escape on the building to his left he kept running, gripping his shirt he pulled it open to reveal red underneath, leaping up into the air he grabbed onto the fire escape with one hand and with one hard pull he flew up into the air and landed on a windowsill before jumping again and landing on the roof._

 _Pulling of his shirt completely and his pants and stashing them in his bag, he pulled out a yellow mask._

 _Putting on the mask Shaun stood up in full costume._

 _He was wearing a red and yellow costume with a yellow mask that only revealed his mouth and nose and the eyes of the mask were red, the arms of the costume yellow but the chest area and back are red, his pants began as red shorts before the legs became yellow completely after the crotch area, and had a red belt, his boots and gloves were red as well._

 _Looking to the building across from him he saw the smoke billowing out of the top of it, and spotted a closed window on the wall, the inside filled with smoke and fire._

 _Taking off into a run Shaun leapt off the side of the building and sailed across the alley before crashing through the window of the burning building._

 **(FlashForward End)**


	4. Jackson

**Here is the long awaited fourth chapter :) and i** **t introduces a new character, it's not the longest chapter, but the next chapter will be longer.**

 **I hope you all enjoy**

* * *

Shaun let out a yawn as he stretched out his arms, he had awoken a few minutes ago and was now standing next his bed, the covers and sheets were messily thrown about as he reached down and haphazardly pulled them back up over the bed before he made his way to the bathroom.

He then took a shower and changed out of his pyjamas into some more casual clothing and headed to the kitchen, where he saw Marcus, who was holding a mug in one hand and an apple in the other.

"Good morning" Marcus greeted him with a smile.

"Morning" Shaun replied with a small smile as he brushed some of his still damp hair back and looked around slightly.

Catching on to what he was looking for, Marcus spoke up.

"You can help yourself to whatever you want, there's plenty of food." He said before heading to the door which led into the outside corridor.

"I'm gonna go and check on some things downstairs, when I'm done I was going to go into the city for some things if you'd like to come with me" Marcus said casually before he headed towards the door, placing the apple in his mouth as he opened it, and a few moments later he was gone.

Shaun looked around at the kitchen, he opened the fridge first and saw there was a lot of food, as Marcus had said, he peered over at some of the cupboards with interest, as well as the pantry which was a few feet from the fridge.

Looking over the contents of the fridge he briefly paused before reaching in and pulling out a small glass bottle of Pepsi, he opened it and took a sip, which quickly made way to guzzling it down.

He then reached in for another, as well as grabbing an apple and devouring it quickly, this continued as he kept eating, moving onto the pantry as well, choosing between food items as he went, not paying attention to the amount of wrappers and various boxes that began to pile up on the floor.

 **(With Marcus)**

After half an hour, Marcus had finished his business downstairs and was walking towards the door to the main apartment, opening it as he was seemingly lost in thought.

' _Am going to have to replace the internal workings of that device, they're not holding up to the heat of external…'_ His thoughts suddenly came to a halt at the sight before him as he walked into living room area, which was adjacent to the kitchen, and the sight of various boxes, wrappers, jars, bags and other items all scattered around.

As well as Shaun who had just dropped a large bone into the trash bin, which had previously been a leg of ham, now picked clean.

He also had chocolate around the edges of his mouth.

Marcus blinked twice before walking over to the fridge and opening it, only to find the contents now severely lacking, only a few condiments remained untouched.

"You ate all that food…" Marcus said with a shocked tone, looking at Shaun with surprise and disbelief.

Shaun however seemed to misinterpret his tone and suddenly gained a slightly worried expression.

"Y-Yeah…" he said slowly, trying not to look at Marcus before he spoke up again.

"I-I'm sorry! Really I am, I just was really really hungry, I didn't mean to eat it all, honest!" Shaun began saying quickly in a pleading tone, as he was worried Marcus was going to yell at him.

Marcus obviously picked up on this and quickly raised his hands up in a placating manner.

"Woah Woah Woah! It's ok, I'm not angry or anything" he said soothingly, causing Shaun pause and look up at him.

"Y-You're not?" he asked in a small voice, causing Marcus to shake his head.

"No, I'm not angry, just…surprised is all" he said, choosing his words carefully as he looked around the kitchen.

"Why don't you go and wash your face and get a jacket on, and we can go shopping…I was meaning to buy more food anyway" he said with a small smile, causing Shaun's expression to change to a similar one before he quickly sprinted off towards his room, leaving Marcus alone.

Once alone Marcus looked over the mess which was on the floor and took another glance into the fridge and the pantry, in truth he hadn't been expecting to need to buy more food until next week, but his new house guest's arrival had changed that notion.

Marcus had seen him devour quite a few plates of food the night before at the diner, but had still been experiencing the aftermath of almost having been killed in the alleyway, which may have caused him to overlook somethings.

' _I'm definitely going to need a bigger fridge'_ he thought to himself as he scratched his head before reaching down and picking up some of the trash from the ground.

* * *

Meanwhile in another part of Gotham, another person was only now just awakening to the sound of a digital alarm clock next to a bed.

Underneath a thin and rumpled blanket a hand came out, blindly reaching around before it found the clock and lazily hit the snooze button before retreating back under the blanket. This was followed by a groan of annoyance before the covers were thrown off, revealing a young man who looked no older than his late teens.

He was wearing only a pair of shorts as pyjamas. His body was lean and skinny, with not much muscle tone to it, and his skin was very pale, his hair was also a peculiar shade of white, not grey, but white like snow.

The teen brought his hands up to rub against his eyes as he rolled over and placed his feet over his bed and onto the ground, looking over to check the clock once more, his blue eyes glaring at it before he stood up slowly, giving one last yawn before he began to make his way away from the bed.

The surroundings were completely dark, the only light coming from the digital clock; however this was remedied as he turned on a lamp situated next to the clock.

The room he was currently in was a large square shaped basement that was filled with a variety of items and furnishings and several extension cords were littered around as well, one of which was connected to the television along the front wall of the basement, sitting atop a wooden table.

A few meters back from it sat a coffee table and a worn and slightly moth eaten green couch. There was a dirty plate upon the table, beside a half empty mug, and a laptop which was closed, beside it sat an ashtray and an open novel sitting flat on its pages.

To the far left of his bed, running along the left wall of the basement, was a brown wardrobe, beside it was a coat stand with two jackets hanging from it, and beside it was a small chest of drawers.

Walking towards the wardrobe, he opened it and scanned over the contents, before moving to the chest of drawers before doing the same, opening it and looking over what it held before closing it.

He made his way over to the coffee table, picking up the mug and downing the cold coffee inside before reaching over and picking up the novel, he walked over to the far right of the basement, a small bookshelf was there, and put the book back in no particular concern for its order.

After doing so he made his way back to the left hand side of the basement, a set of stairs led upwards, before he walked up he flipped on another switch on the wall and the room was lit up even more by the several lights on the ceiling.

After reaching the top of the stairs, there was a hinged door directly above him, swinging it open he stepped up and closed the door down once more.

He was standing behind the bar of a pub, though there was no one else around, the windows facing out onto the street were completely blackened by paint, and had wooden planks nailed down covering them and inhibiting people outside from seeing the interior.

The pub itself was abandoned and in disrepair, having been closed down several years ago but hadn't been renovated or sold, the pub itself was in limbo, mostly due to a dispute between the city council and the holding company that owned the building, and thus it was untouched and seemingly forgotten, and the teen liked it that way.

Making his way along the bar, he stopped at the end of it and opened a door which read _'private'_ , stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. The room itself was the office of the previous manager; it was now mostly empty, save for a desk and chair and a few filing cabinets and shelves. However there was a room connected to the left of the desk, which the teen walked through, revealing a small bathroom that had been put there personally for the manager, it wasn't much, a simple sink with a mirror cabinet above it, and a small shower beside the toilet, apparently the manager would sometimes work full nights and sometimes end up sleeping there, and thus this was a convenience.

A convenience the teen was able to take full advantage of, stripping down and tossing his clothes to the side before stepping into the shower, twisting the knobs and letting the shower run, he closed his eyes, allowing the cascading water to soak into his hair and skin, grabbing a small bar of soap he began to clean himself, lathering the soap before washing it away.

Reaching down to the floor he picked up a small shampoo bottle, opening the cap he turned it upside down and squeezed, though after a few seconds no shampoo came from it, the teen tried shaking the bottle in hope of some shampoo still being in there, but after a few seconds, merely rolled his eyes and tossed the shampoo bottle aside.

Staying in the shower for about ten minutes before he turned it off, stepping out onto a small mat and grabbing a lone towel that hang beside the shower, he proceeded to dry himself.

Afterwards he walked over to the sink, looking into the mirror cabinet and giving his reflection a wink.

"Looking good Jackson" he said to himself, before he put his clothes back on temporarily as he exited the bathroom, making his way back through the office and out into the bar, lifting the basement door up and descending downwards once more.

After returning to the basement, Jackson took of his worn clothes and opened the wardrobe and set of drawers, finding only a single set of clothing left, he got dressed.

Putting on a pair of clean underwear and a pair of dark brown jeans, he pulled on a short sleeved white shirt, and a blue hoodie, before slipping on a pair of socks and red black converse.

Fully dressed, he put the previously worn clothes in a large bag sitting to the left of the wardrobe, it being full of clothing already.

"Looks like its laundry day" Jackson noted with amusement before pulling the rope ties on the bag and hoisting it up over his shoulder.

Stopping to grab a leather wallet from his bedside table, he also grabbed a packet of cigarettes beside it, retrieving one and popping it in his mouth, picking up a silver zippo lighter he opened it with a flick of his wrist, his thumb sparking the wheel and igniting the lighter and his cigarette before flipping it closed.

Reaching back he picked up the bag, hoisting it over his shoulder with one arm, he proceeded back up the stairs and into the bar, once more closing the door behind him, he walked along the bar once more, stopping to lean down to a large brown box that sat next to a fridge, pulling out a bottle of Coca-Cola, the bottle was room temperature from not having been refrigerated.

Continuing on he exited the bar and walked towards the back of the pub, where a back entrance was situated, it led into the back alley, opening it with a key he fished out of his hoodie pocket, Jackson then walked out into outside world, pausing only to lock the back door to the pub once more before walking along the alley towards the street.

Opening the bottle of Coca-Cola, he moved his lips down towards it, and blew onto the bottle, as he did, it became cold and covered in a light layer of frost, before he shifted the laundry bag slightly, removing his cigarette with that hand before taking a sip of the now cold drink.

* * *

 **There you have it, chapter 4 :) Plus the introduction of Jackson, a character who was mentioned in 'Intangible'**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, as always, reviews are encouraged and appreciated.**


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